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Daredevil Season 2

Last year a trailer for Mavel’s show Daredevil got many people excited. Honestly, I was not one of those people. I know it sounds crazy, given that I clearly love super heroes and have a soft spot for Daredevil, but I had zero faith in super hero TV shows. I figured they would all be terrible, and some of them are (I am looking at you, Gotham). So I honestly had no intentions of even giving this show a chance. But soon after it was added to Netflix, people could not stop raving about it. That’s when I decided to give the show a chance. I was so completely wrong about my prejudgement of super hero shows. This show was AMAZING. I binged it until my eyes hurt, and immediately wanted more.

Obviously I would have to wait for season 2, which was green lit almost instantly after the success of season 1. In the time between season 1 and season 2 I was able to enjoy Jessica Jones (which is equally as good as Daredevil). And now, finally coming down from the high of Jessica Jones, season 2 of Daredevil premiered… and I just finished watching it.

Unlike most reviews, I am going to briefly review the season as a whole rather than each individual episode. Since this is a review…

Season 1 was a game changer. We were all still bitter about the pretty-terrible Ben Affleck movie about Matthew Murdock, a blind lawyer by day and a vigilante protecting the city he loves by night. In season 1 we got everything we wanted: awesome fight scenes (particularly the hallway fight scene at the end of episode 2, that is easily a top 5 scene for me) a crazy villain (Kingpin) and plenty of references to the comics. So the question is, can season 2 top it?

Last year it was announced that season 2 would be introducing us to the Punisher and Elektra, two well known Marvel heroes. They would be two major deciding factors on whether or not this season was going to deliver. So let’s talk about everything new in season 2.

The Punisher

It was announced in the summer of last year that Frank Castle (The Punisher) would be played by Jon Bernthal. For those of you who don’t know who Jon Bernthal is, he is best known for playing Shane on The Walking Dead. He was so good as Shane that anyone who watches The Walking Dead still brings Shane up all the time, and he hasn’t been in the show since season 2. So I thought this casting was perfect.

The Punisher is also a vigilante, however he is not like Daredevil. He is hellbent on uh… “punishing” the men that murdered his family. Unlike Daredevil, he has no problem straight up murdering. And boy does he…

I was shocked at how brutal some of the murders The Punisher committed were. My favorite scene in the season also happened to be the bloodiest: The Punisher massacres a hallway of prison inmates. It was brutal to say the least. Another crazy moment cam in a dinner, where he stabs a man then breaks another man’s face.

The conflict as to whether or not Frank Castle is a hero or a villain was so intriguing. It makes me want to read more about The Punisher and find out how he is portrayed in the comic universe. In this show, he is portrayed as a “shoot first, ask questions later” and it’s awesome. The way other character’s react to him is unlike anything we have seen before. They fear him, even those that believe he is a good guy. There were times he was brutal enough to make anyone watching feel uncomfortable, which means they are doing something right. I really hope we see more of The Punisher in later seasons, and even later shows.

Elektra

The first time we saw Elektra, she was played by Jennifer Garner in the aforementioned Daredevil movie we all want to forget about, and the solo spinoff movie that none of us asked for. So I was a little apprehensive to see her in this show, especially by an actress that I have never seen before.

Elektra is a former love interest of Matt Murdock who comes back to Hell’s Kitchen because she needs Daredevil’s help. Much like The Punisher, she has no problem killing anyone, which of course goes against everything Daredevil believes in. The actress who plays her in the show (Elodie Yung) was perfect for the role. Definitely a welcome part to the show.

The Hand

The Hand was alluded to in Season 1 and since they are a major part of Daredevil mythos, we all couldn’t wait until they made their appearance. I thought they were going to be just another group of mindless henchmen, but truth be told they are goddamn scary. They can somehow mask their heartbeats so that Daredevil can’t track then, and their weapons seem to be coated with a deadly poison. Also they might be dead? You will have to watch to see what I am talking about…

Normally this is where shows and movies fail. “Too many cooks in the kitchen” has certainly proven to be a method of disaster in the past. Anyone who has seen Spider-Man 3 can attest to that. But this season was just as good as the first season. But that wasn’t the case here. Everything runs so smoothly and comes together in the end.

There are a few things I didn’t like about this season. Specifically the Karen Page/Matt Murdock relationship. I thought it felt a little too out of place, and I always thought Karen and Foggy would end up together. I also didn’t like (and this is seriously nit picking) Elektra’s final costume. I liked her normal costume throughout the season. It felt reminiscent of Daredevil’s costume in season 1: just an outfit she wears when beating the shit out of people. I liked that more, and her new costume in the last episode looked a bit silly. Having said that, Daredevil continues to be an amazing show, and if you aren’t watching it you definitely should. Now we just have to be patient until season 1 of Luke Cage…

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2 comments

Totally agree with you! I pretty much love everything about this series, the dark tone, super complicated villains that are actually kind of terrifying, every single character is interesting to me. As much as I love the action I’m just as interested in the smaller supporting cast moments. And it goes without saying the fight choreography and cinematography in this show are phenomenal.
Both Elektra and Frank Castle were perfect, I want a new series for each of them immediately… incredibly well done! I’m sad I finished it.